Chris Walden Big Band

Home Of My Heart

ORIGIN CLASSICAL 82439

“...an aurally captivating delight. In the best traditions of the Big Band genre it is beautifully written and magnificently executed”

Jeremy Lubbock, reknowned arranger

The award winning German composer/arranger has scored over 30 feature & TV films and has done arrangements for dozens of artists including Nancy Wilson, Barbra Streisand, Bill Conti, and the Chicago Symphony. Walden started writing for German radio orchestras at 21 and conducted the Frankfurt Radio Big Band and the RIAS Big Band in Berlin before relocating to Los Angeles at age 29. His big band is comprised of Los Angeles' top studio and jazz artists including Peter Erskine, Pete Christlieb, Bobby Shew and many more.

REVIEWS:

MusicWeb International (Ian Lace)Walden's virtuoso jazz team plays excitingly, enthusiastically, and they blend, integrate splendidly. The programme has plenty of variety; there is always something to excite and stimulate the ear. The programme opens in high-spirited, up-beat style with Ray Noble's well-known Cherokee that includes some breath-taking solo alto sax and trumpet solo...

All About Jazz (Dan McClenaghan)German-born, Los Angeles-based composer/arranger/flugelhornist Chris Walden looks way too young to be this good at a task as daunting as big band writing. He looks almost too young to be sitting in with the band, though he is pushing the ripe old age of forty. But he started early at the art, writing big band arrangements while he was still in high...

Bi Band Days (Jack Behrens)I've already selected my Large Ensemble Jazz winner for the 2006 Grammys. My ears and mind tell me the sound is better than some winners of recent years. He's that good, I think.

I'm talking about the rich, full-section sound of newcomer Chris Walden and his big band and a just released CD entitled "Love Of My Heart" (Origin Records/20...

All About Jazz (Jack Bowers)One doesn't often hear a big band album in which the arrangements literally steal the show. Here's one where they do. Make no mistake, German-born composer/arranger Chris Walden has mustered a world-class ensemble for his debut album, abundantly equipped with staunch team players and killer soloists; even so, it is his superlative charts that carry...

L.A. Jazz Scene (Scott Yanow)Chris Walden's big band uses some of the same Los Angeles-based players but his arrangements are generally more modern, even when the pieces are "Cherokee," "Stolen Moments" and "You Took Advantage Of Me." Walden is clearly quite familiar with post bop while also loving the big band tradition. His arrangements are full of subtle surprises and hea...

Jazz Scene (George Fendel)Although one has to deal with smog, jammed freeways and 16 jillion people, LA's okay if you're a big band leader. That's because you can find monsters like Bobby Shew, Pete Christlieb and Carl Saunders to play in your band. And if you know your turf pretty well, there are tons of additional first rate players to fill those band chairs. This is w...

Washington Times (UPI) (Pat Nason)Los Angeles, CA, Mar. 22 (UPI) -- Chris Walden had steady work as a film and TV composer in his native Germany, but his profile there really started to rise after he left his home several years ago to work in Hollywood. The 38-year-old native of Hamburg grew up in a musical family, as the son of a Swiss soprano. He began his music career in ...

All About Jazz (EJ Iannelli)Recorded several years ago, in late 2002, Home of My Heart sounds as if it could have beenówere it not for its handful of latter-day charts by eighties pop supernova Christopher Cross and film composer John Williamsórecorded several decades earlier. The prevailing sound is classic big band, delighting in the force of its multitudes while consistent...

Mainly Big Bands (John Killoch)This the debut CD of one of the most remarkable big bands I have had the pleasure of listening to for some time. One only has to check out the personnel to realise that this is a very special event in the big band world. A exciting assembly including the finest musicians available on the West Coast, see below. The imaginative writing allows the sol...

Audiophile Audition (Jeff Krow)Chris Walden is a film score writer from Los Angeles and at a young (for a big band leader) 38, has hit a home run with his big band Origin cd, Home of My Heart. Recorded at the venerable Capitol Studios in Hollywood and featuring the cream of the crop top LA session men, Walden's CD swings mightily and his big band connects on a mix of well known ...

All Music Guide (Adam Greenburg)A young big band conductor. A rarity to be sure, but not necessarily an oxymoron. Chris Walden proves that in this album, a surprisingly versatile primer of the big band. Walden can use traditional techniques, with a soloist over the top of a soft backing of horns, as you'll hear in the Christopher Cross-penned "Rainy Day in Vancouver," as well as ...